BNY Mellon Lands Top WilmerHale Partner

William J. Perlstein, the former managing partner of WilmerHale and an instrumental figure in the firm’s history, has departed to join BNY Mellon as senior deputy general counsel.

In his new position, Perlstein will lead the legal department in a number of areas including government affairs, public policy, corporate services and cyber security.

He had spent four decades at Wilmer Hale, and helped build the organization as it exists today: Elected managing partner of Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in 1998, he led it to its transformative 2004 merger with Hale and Dorr. Then, he served as co-managing partner of the ...